


step into my candy store

by mmchiaki



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: I'm so sorry, M/M, Mutual Pining, OH GOD I'M RE READING IT IT'S SO BAD, Sorcos Week 2018, oh and not sorry for heathers reference. stan heathers the musical or die, this is so bad!! i'm so sorry!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 16:14:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16519838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmchiaki/pseuds/mmchiaki
Summary: Soren and Marcos have been friends for years, and one Halloween night, maybe they'll become more.





	step into my candy store

Soren’s heart sang whenever Halloween drew near. He loved the flashy costumes, the children huddling in groups, the candy left in bowls outside of doorsteps. He relished moments he saw teens walking with their siblings door to door, collecting their prize for their good work in the process. It was busy and beautiful, at least in his eyes. Claudia never understood his fixation on Halloween, much to his surprise. How could someone who crushes spiders and burns dead animals like fuel for enjoyment  _ not  _ be excited by Halloween?

The answer may lie in their childhood. A time Soren hates to remember and a time Claudia looks on with an indifferent smile. With no magical talent, Soren was pushed to the side in favor of his younger sister. He wasn’t completely ignored, his father and late mother did love him too and made that point clear, but he always knew Claudia was preferred. If it were him or Claudia, Lord Viren, father of the year, would pick Claudia. Halloween gave him the freedom he needed. He was free from failing his father’s expectations, free from being second best, free from pressure to make a name for himself.  _ He was free. _ And only God knows what he would do with that freedom without Marcos.

Marcos and Soren had been friends since childhood. An unlikely friendship that would last for years, without a single mishap to stop them. Well, there were a  _ few _ mishaps. But nothing strong enough to break their bond. They had always been thick as thieves, and thieves they were on All Hallow’s Eve. Nothing too malicious or sneaky, just the slight snatch of the perfect treat. The streets of Katolis were a hunting ground full of prey on Halloween night. Soren missed those nights Marcos would teach him to pickpocket, with their hands nearly touching and laughing about hapless victims. Marcos’ laugh had caused plenty of tricks on Soren’s heart back in those days. He’d cachinnate in a surprisingly pleasant way, and whenever he heard that elated cackle he had no choice but to laugh along with him. Like a beautiful disease, Marcos was contagious.

And while walking through Katolis’ narrow roads, Soren couldn’t help his mind from thinking of Marcos and Viren’s disappointment at his lack of magical talent and his sister and how  _ amazing  _ she was and how  _ perfect _ his father saw her as. He thought of how Marcos was always there for him whenever he felt as if he wasn’t enough, how he’d hold him close under a peach tree and rub his shoulder, how it felt when Soren would lay back and let himself drift off… He couldn’t help the bubbling anger at his father and fondness at his closest friend. He navigated through packs of children, carelessly distracted at the sudden development of these emotions.

_ Wham. _

When he returned from his thoughts, he found himself on the ground next to a pot of hydrangeas in front of a familiar crownguard.  _ Speak of the devil… _ he thought.  _ Or thought of the devil, that would make more sense. _ Either way, as if a moth attracted to a flame, Marcos was sitting right in front of him. He felt his face flush as his mind raced with thoughts of their past, how close they were, physically  _ and  _ emotionally. Marcos threw him a small smile that prompted his heart to jump. He was cute and handsome in the most amazing way, and Soren couldn’t help his body from doing flips and swirls as he gazed at him. Then he realized he was staring, and his heart rate quickened for another reason.

“Sorry!” He gasped, pulling himself to his feet and held out a hand for Marcos. He grinned up at him and took it.

“No problem, man. You were worse when we were kids.” Soren blushed at that comment, he didn’t always look fondly on the bruises that came with being clumsy. “‘Been a while.” Marcos commented, looking up at the orange lights threaded between tree branches. They casted a soft glow on the two, illuminating their longing gazes and nostalgia.

“What’ve you been up to?” Soren managed, the words breathy and quick in an attempt to calm himself. He had never felt any panic like this before, did the fall disorient him that much?

“Nothing really. I haven’t done much impressive, like becoming  _ the  _ youngest crownguard! In all of history! You’re doing better than me, bud.” Marcos was enthusiastic and adorable. He had changed in that short amount of time. Or maybe Soren just never noticed this side of him.

Soren laughed, but it sounded forced. “Yeah! It wasn’t much, my dad did most of it.”  _ Great. Of course i had to go and mention dear old Dad. _ Right when he thought he blew it and readied himself to turn away, Marcos intervened.

“I really don’t think he did that much. It wouldn’t take much for me to tell you have talent!” Soren tried to convince himself he was lying, he really did. But something about his expression made it impossible to believe anything negative about him. The way his eyes shone when he smiled, how his chin pulled up just an inch, Soren couldn’t think a man like that could lie.

“Thanks, man. See you ‘round?” Soren hated to cut the reunion short, but he had nothing to say that moment. He would be perfectly fine to just gaze into his eyes fourteen minutes straight, but that usually scares people away. He had some experience with that.

“Sure! Actually, wanna meet up tomorrow? For lunch, maybe? Let’s catch up.” Soren grinned.  _ I know I never believed in you before, but thank you God!! _ Soren thought with glee. He felt the cold night get warmer as he agreed to meet Marcos at a bakery not too far from the castle. When he turned and walked away, he felt a new spring in his step. He didn’t know why he was so excited about the meeting, it would have just been routine before. But that was then.

After mindlessly walking for ten minutes or so, Claudia rushed in front of him, looking desperate. She grabbed his shoulder to steady herself and caught her breath, a feat that would have taken much less time if she wasn’t carrying a plastic skeleton and three plastic pumpkins filled to the brim with candy.

“Ezran asked me to take him trick or treating, so I did, I mean who wouldn’t say no to that request making that face, and I turned the corner on that street back there Mom used to take us to- Emmonds? Anyway, I turned the corner and Ezran was gone! Poof!” Claudia panted, her body bobbing up and down with every heavy breath. Her eyes were wide and manic, full of fear and uncertainty. Yep, definitely Claudia.

“Did he take Bait with him?” Soren asked, all too familiar with those events. Whenever Soren escorted Ezran anywhere, the kid always found his way away from him. After so many times playing a fear-filled game of hide and seek, a strategy is bound to develop.

“I mean, yeah, but how does that help? It just means I’m responsible for another disappearance!” Claudia cried, getting more desperate by the minute. If Soren was to accomplish anything, he’d have to calm her down. But that was never his forte, when she was a baby putting her within two feet of Marcos would shut her up in seconds. He wondered if that would work now.

“Bait drools. Like, a lot. Where’d you lose him again?” Claudia grabbed his arm and pulled him to the corner with the nice bench with flowers and vines climbing up the sides. 

“Here! I started to talk to him about how Mom would take us to sit on the bench while we ate muffins and when I turned around he was gone!” Claudia wailed. She clearly believed she had lost the prince and his toad forever. Soren bent down and examined a bright spot next to the bench.  _ Gotcha. _ He looked to the left of the spot- nothing. He looked to the right- another patch.

“Claudia, which way did you come from?” He asked. She pointed in front of her with a shaky hand. Sure enough, there was a trail in that direction, too.

“Right,” he said, standing up. “Give me the plastic skeleton and a bowl of candy. I’ll find the prince, even if I get trampled by kids dressed as Sir Elfsalot in the process!” Claudia giggled and handed him the skeleton, then spent a minute and fourteen seconds trying to force a bowl off her arm. Soren took the bowl- much heavier than he’d expected- and followed the shimmering trail. It turned and ran short just in front of a candy store, and his heart dropped when he looked inside. Marcos, of all people, was bent over in front of Ezran, gesturing enthusiastically and smiling brightly. Claudia pushed past him in a rush to get to the prince, disorienting him and causing a rush of emotions he could barely discern as panic and fear.

He heard the muffled voices of Claudia and Marcos catching up and laughing, and Soren felt a pang of an emotion he knew all too well. Jealousy. Of course, there was nothing  _ to  _ be jealous of, as he was all too aware of Claudia’s inclination towards girls, but he couldn’t help his heart. In a fit of blind confidence, Soren strolled up to the door and pulled it open with more force than needed.

“Hey, stalker!” Marcos laughed, waving to him. Soren couldn’t help but laugh at the nickname, despite the sinister denotation. He walked over and ruffled Ezran’s hair as a clever excuse to not meet eyes with Marcos.

Soren broke the silence with a much needed jab at Claudia. “Clauds was going frantic over losing you!” He laughed, and earned an elbow to the ribs.

“Psh, I wasn’t  _ that _ bad.” She pouted, but hid a smile. She glanced between the two men, judging their body language and facial expressions. A sly smile grew on her face when she put two and two together. “I’ll leave you two here. Ezran, let’s hit up that haunted house two blocks up.” Ezran looked up at her and then Marcos and Soren, and mimicked her smile. The two practically ran out of the shop, leaving Marcos and Soren in their dust.

“Well…” Marcos tried to break the heavy silence. He had no words, and just stared. Never before had he noticed the perfect wave of Soren’s hair, the tinge of green in his blue eyes. He was suddenly incredibly aware of his fingers squeezing around each other, displaying his nervousness for Soren to see. He moved them behind his back.

“Do you remember that time when we were kids, and we were talking about that baker? The one in front of the fountain?” Soren blurted. He didn’t know if what he spoke even made sense. Should he have to care?

“Of… course I remember. We were tripping over our own feet for him.”  _ Not like we’d ever be in a relationship with him. We were, like, thirteen. That would have been plain creepy. _ Marcos thought. That, Soren openly agreed on. Soren usually looked back on those days and cringed, both at his obsession with the much-older male and stupidity in his attempts to capture his attention.

“We agreed that he made us feel. Happy. And scared? I don’t know. But I’m saying that… I feel that way around you.” Soren had half a mind to laugh and say, “Sike, bro! Only joking!” But that would be too wrong for him. He was always honest with Marcos when they were young, he couldn’t break that unspoken promise now.

“Bro?” Soren almost laughed at how strange that sounded, especially at a time like this. Marcos’ eyes were wide with shock- but not rejecting him. Not completely. “I… I feel that way too. I think. Like I’m jumping off a cliff or somethin’.”

Soren shouldn’t have felt as happy as he did in that moment. “Really?” He said, trying to keep his elation out of his voice.

Marcos smiled, the smile piercing through Soren with rays of light. “Yeah. Whaddya say, let’s make that meet-up tomorrow a date. Deal?” Like Soren, Marcos tried to keep the hope out of his voice.

“Deal.”

And the two walked out of the store hand-in-hand, excited about the possibilities lying ahead. Of course, they didn’t leave without buying any candy.


End file.
